I'm new here and would like to share the start of what I will be (hopefully) a lifelong journey to increased health and happiness.

Let me start by saying I'm not seeking any advice, nor want any negative advice regarding my choice of 'life journey'. I'm only here to record my experience in the hope it benefits and motivates others. I am a 48-year-old female who has been overweight the majority of my life. My highest when I was pregnant was 256.

I have made a promise to my son to do this for six weeks minimum, but hopefully longer. I would ideally like to go 100 days then onto vegan.

My plan will include 3-4 smoothies a day, 1-2 veggie smoothies a day. I also allow myself 2-3 cups of coffee a day, 1-2 with sugar and skim milk. I drink bottled water continuously throughout the day and always have a bottle to hand.

I began my life journey midday last Friday 30/08/13 weighing in at 243.25. This morning, 7 1/2 days later I weigh 230.125. I have lost 13.125 pounds.

The first 8 days: I feel mostly great, no hunger pangs and I've stopped salivating when thinking about food. The second night of sleep I felt like I slept like I had a fever, although I didn't and wasn't poorly. I have felt very positive and euphoric during the week. I have lived a normal week working, managing a family with the normal stresses and joys. I even allowed myself to go out with friends/mates last night and wasn't tempted by cheese and onion crisps/chips at midnight. I did have 250ml of white wine mixed with 750 ml of soda water over the course of the evening.

I'm happy to answer any questions, and would love to hear positive experiences. However, I repeat I've done a lot of research and reading, etc, I don't need to hear any negative feedback. Everyone is different, everyone has a different journey. I hope I will be able to inspire you to greatness! Happy Saturday! X x

Forgot to mention, yes, you do go to the loo/bathroom a lot. I keep an eye on the colour of my urine to make sure it is very light and that I'm not getting dehydrated. I also take a chewable multi-vitamin in the morning. I think this is important.

Just for the girlies: I started my menstrual cycle today and have to say I forgot I was due to start. I've had no symptoms of PMS at all. No cramping, no bloating, no moodiness, no craving carbs or chocolate. Usually the day before my period I crave cheesy pasta or potatoes and chocolate. Have to say this is a nice side effect!

Hope everyone is having a great day!! Stick with whatever you are doing! You can do it! X x

U fit 2,
Congrats, I too am doing green smoothies for breakfast and lunch and a weight watchers frozen dinner in the evening. I started vegan 4 months ago, then added dairy so now a vegetarian. I feel more energetic and focused since I cut out all meat.
Just wanted to encourage you. Keep it up and God Bless

Chub2fit: thanks for the encouragement! We all need that. And your plan sounds good. Not sure I will stay vegan as I do like a bit of cheese. I also like the occasional piece of fish or chicken fajitas, so we'll see how it goes when the time comes but will definitely do vegan for as long as I've done the fast.

Day 10 Update: weighed 228.25 this morning so that's 15 pounds lost in 10 days so far. I don't plan on weighing everyday, but will post when I do.

What type of exercise are you doing? What type of vegetables are you including in the smoothies? I'd really love to start on this diet as I'm a huge fan of smoothies to begin with and have never been a huge fan of meat.

So, exercise: I've had some knee issues the past few weeks so not doing anything at the moment. Used to swim regularly and do dance classes. Will resume swimming when knee feels better. Any impact activities I am leaving until I am at a much lower weight. I feel exercise and continued monitoring of eating habits will be key in keeping the weight off eventually. I believe exercise makes you healthy but doesn't necessarily make you lose weight in itself. You need to decrease the energy consumed for this to happen.

To be honest, my calorie intake is similar to a VLCD (very low calorie diet), between 500-800 calories a day. I believe this is key to the success. I've been drinking a popular brand of smoothies packaged for children. I make my own veggie juices and mix up whatever's there, usually carrot, apple, kale, cucumber, and squeeze in a lot of lemon. Sometimes I add radish, broad beans, etc. I'm getting a new juicer, so hopefully it will be easier to juice the leafy stuff.

Needed a little motivation today, found an interesting medical journal article on total fasting from 1973. Gentleman lost 276 pounds in 382 days, went from 456 to 180. Five years later he was only at 196. There's some motivation for you. I have heard though that vlcd, fasting, etc, only works in the long term if you get to your ideal weight during the plan. And when I say ideal, I mean bmi of 19-25. Here is the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...00315-0056.pdf

I'm not advocating total long-term fasting, this one was medically supervised. But when you think about gastric banding, as I did, it basically does the same thing, putting you into ketosis. Atkins/low-carb puts you into ketosis as well as vlcd. And when you are in ketosis you don't have hunger pangs. Gastric bands put you into ketosis through making you eat a vlcd diet, this is how they work.

Peter Attia, M.D. Has a great blog that discusses ketosis and other weight loss issues. Ketosis, if you are not a diabetic, is not harmful according to info in his blog: http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/is-ketosis-dangerous. Obviously, everyone is different and you must consult your doctor before undertaking any new health regime.

They say it's the little things in life: my new juicer arrived today from Germany and I have to say it is absolutely amazing! So worth the money. I used the same amount of veg and got three times the amount of juice. It should pay for itself in the next few months on a lower veg bill, at least that's the story I'm telling hubby-bubby tonight when he asks how much it cost.

Day 14 Update: weighed 226.5 this morning, start weight 243.25, total lost in 14 days is 16.75. I feel and look like I've lost weight especially from my tummy area. My clothes are starting to feel a little less tight. I feel very positive! Bring on the weekend!

Congratulations!!!! I am struggling through my first week ever off counting my intake. I would love to add smoothies to my regime once I am comfortable with the first change. I love bacon too much to ever go vegetarian, I do eat uncured though.

u-fit-2, I am inspired by your journey! I too am in my 40s and so want to get this belly fat off me! I went on the smoothies and juicing back in April and have lost almost 30lbs, but had slacked off the smoothies the last couple of months. Getting ready to start them back up again as I was most successful then. I drink a lot of water and have included protein shakes in my diet now. A great documentary to watch is called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", you can find it on youtube or netflix. It is great and talks about two men's journey to weight loss and curing a particular health condition. Very inspiring!
Keep up the great work!